Chrysler RIP?

[Thai]

Chrysler, R.I.P.
The demise of an iconic American automaker.

As Chrysler commemorated its first anniversary under the ownership of private-equity player Cerberus Capital Management this summer, CEO Bob Nardelli issued a five-page letter to rally the troops. After all, things hadn't really worked out as Cerberus expected when it paid $7.4 billion to take Chrysler off Daimler's hands in 2007. Rather than "restoring an American icon," as Cerberus chairman John Snow declared back then, Chrysler sunk even further into the muck as gas prices soared and showroom traffic came to a standstill. Chrysler's guzzler-heavy lineup of SUVs and trucks did worse than most, with sales plummeting 25 percent and profits nowhere to be found. Still, Nardelli, once an acolyte of GE's Jack Welch, oozed optimism when he closed his long letter with these words of encouragement: "Chrysler may be down, but we're a long way from out. It's time for us to prove the naysayers wrong with another one of our patented comebacks!"

But it looks like Chrysler has run out of comebacks. Shortly after Nardelli wrote those words, Cerberus entered talks with General Motors to unload its Motown mistake. Despite reports of an impasse, a deal still appears to be just around the corner

 

[peter78]

In order for Detroit to live, by this reasoning, then Chrysler must die.

Boy, that is tough. I thought GM may combine with them. It sounds like that is not going to happen, instead they are going to kill it.

If that is true, that is a sad day for this country.

 

[Thai]

The article is a very good read...and something that I never thought about if domestics go under:

Without the GM-Chrysler combo, its advocates argue, all of Detroit will tumble into bankruptcy. And that will take down thousands of parts suppliers, dealers and other businesses that depend on the American automakers. Even the Toyota, Honda and Nissan auto factories in America could shut down because their U.S. suppliers would go belly up. Total job loss: 2 million Americans

Wow...major ramifications across the car industry! I was a lukewarm supporter of the GM bailout plan before, but after reading this article, i am a definite supporter now!

And, of course, being a citizen of this amazing country, i just cannot imagine this country not having a Ford or Chevy brand.

 

[peter78]

Re: Re: Chrysler RIP?

The article is a very good read...and something that I never thought about if domestics go under:



Wow...major ramifications across the car industry! I was a lukewarm supporter of the GM bailout plan before, but after reading this article, i am a definite supporter now!

And, of course, being a citizen of this amazing country, i just cannot imagine this country not having a Ford or Chevy brand.

A bailout, maybe, but I don't like the idea of giving up on Chrysler. They must have close to 30 models out there, some of them fairly new. I like the Pacifica and the Patriot. There are so many new ones, the Compass, Aspen, Caliber,Nitro and lets not forget the old but super neat Viper.

 

[Thai]

Re: Re: Re: Chrysler RIP?

A bailout, maybe, but I don't like the idea of giving up on Chrysler. They must have close to 30 models out there, some of them fairly new. I like the Pacifica and the Patriot. There are so many new ones, the Compass, Aspen, Caliber,Nitro and lets not forget the old but super neat Viper.

Peter, my eyes got watery as i read the above article and then your post...then i found this on Edmunds, which dried up what little tears i had for Chrysler:

DETROIT

 

[Thai]

IMHO, we need GM and Ford because they are deep rooted American companies...i don't care too much about Chrysler which lost its ways when Mercedes bought it just little over 10 years ago.

 

[004Gunner]

Personally I could not disagree with either of you any more than I already do. This is a capitalist, "free" economy and if you cannot swim then you will, and should sink. I have no compassion for any company, especially corporations. Maybe I am just bitter after seeing what a company considered an "American Icon" did to my father after 20 years of service, but rest assured that these unsuccessful corporations do not have any sense of loyalty to people in general. Their loyalty is to the almighty dollar and the opening of factories and call centers in developing nations is solid testament to this statement. The article was right on when mentioning that Chrysler had "lost its way". Sidetracking a bit here, but who the hell considers the PT Cruiser a "hot model"? WTF? The loss of American jobs amidst our current economic situation is unfortunate but these are the things that define a poor economy. Personally I will not miss Chrysler and its myriad substandard products that span decades.

:soapbox: Stepping off now

 

[Atlanta_man]

I recall a visit to the Ford Dearborn plant a few years ago. The celebration was for the 100 millionth car coming out of that plant. The factory and railroad yard are miles across. Never seen anything even close.

 

[Thai]

Personally I could not disagree with either of you any more than I already do. This is a capitalist, "free" economy and if you cannot swim then you will, and should sink. I have no compassion for any company, especially corporations. Maybe I am just bitter after seeing what a company considered an "American Icon" did to my father after 20 years of service, but rest assured that these unsuccessful corporations do not have any sense of loyalty to people in general. Their loyalty is to the almighty dollar and the opening of factories and call centers in developing nations is solid testament to this statement. The article was right on when mentioning that Chrysler had "lost its way". Sidetracking a bit here, but who the hell considers the PT Cruiser a "hot model"? WTF? The loss of American jobs amidst our current economic situation is unfortunate but these are the things that define a poor economy. Personally I will not miss Chrysler and its myriad substandard products that span decades.

:soapbox: Stepping off now

Yeah, i can see your points. I don't know anymore...i just hate to see America without these brand names.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

The big three made their beds and now have to sleep in them and I have very little compassion for them at this point but I would like to see Ford and GM survive since they have a chance but Chrysler has never done anything for me and have never owned their products so makes no diff to me.

 

[Thai]

The big three made their beds and now have to sleep in them and I have very little compassion for them at this point but I would like to see Ford and GM survive since they have a chance but Chrysler has never done anything for me and have never owned their products so makes no diff to me.

All those Jeep owners in your neck of the woods will now have to buy Toyota FJs and 4runners!

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Well ok,there would be a loss of an american off road icon that would be bad.

 

[GatorGreg]

Hmmm...where will I take my Jeep for it's "lifetime" powertrain warranty?

 

[Thai]

Hmmm...where will I take my Jeep for it's "lifetime" powertrain warranty?

Junkyard??

 

[GatorGreg]

Junkyard??

LOL, I guess you're right. As my dear ol' grandpappy used to say: :happens:

 

[owen4runner]

Here's another article (opinion) that I found interesting. I also remember reading several articles that said "the automakers want $25 billion to fund research for a more fuel efficient vehicles". Whew! I thought they wanted bailout money.

How to Fix a Flat
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: November 11, 2008

Last September, I was in a hotel room watching CNBC early one morning. They were interviewing Bob Nardelli, the C.E.O. of Chrysler, and he was explaining why the auto industry, at that time, needed $25 billion in loan guarantees. It wasn

 

[riverider]

BIG 3 Auto Mfgs.

IMHO having bought all three of their products over the years, I think all three of BIG 3 Auto Mfgs have done a real crappy and real BAD job of dealing with their customers and their employees.

This should come as no surprise as all three have fallen on hard times.

There is a real good reason people buy Toyota product over the big threes. It's called quality products and customer care.

 

[G.I.G.]

I owned two Jeep GC's but have no regrets moving over to Toyota. IMO, the Jeep brand was dead years ago when they took the solid front axle out of GC's, scrapped the 4.0L, started putting Dodge Caravan engines in Jeeps, started making the Compass and Patriot, etc., etc. All Jeeps are anymore are watered down Dodge products with the Jeep logo on the front.

This, much like the recent government bailouts of the financial industry, leaves me split. Part of me knows a bailout needs to take place in order to avoid a complete meltdown of our economy, the the other part of me says tough sh!t, let them go away. The unfortunate part and the true victims here are the hard working employees that have put their heart and soul into their job, only to have it pissed away by top level execs who will get rich no matter what. That is the real travesty.

Same thing with the airline industry. Southwest and other small carriers have great customer service, high employee moral, run profitably, etc. They're not looking for a government handout. If United, Delta, and the others can't figure it out....go find another line of work. :bash:

 

[riverider]

I am all for doing everything we can for their employees, But the people at the top of their Companies I care less about them. They are the ones who have misdirected their Companies and have caused them to be in the shape they now find themselves in.

For years all you read was that it was the Unions who were causing the problems. They were asking for living wages and medical coverage for the employees.

But all the time they the top brass of the Companies were lining their pockets with millions of dollars.

There all worthless bums the top people I say let give them nothing but the door.:

 

[BurghRunner]

In many ways I can see both sides of the bailout. But I do agree with the above comment about ridding the management. If they ran it into the ground, don't give the same people more money to use unwisely.

Image what those billions of dollars could do for the actual auto workers if the money was set aside for education and training in new fields? Screw the company that has a history of failing and help the people move on to something else.